Climate Change and Informal Institutions in the Lake Victoria Basin
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Date
2009
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Abstract
Th e Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) analyses of impacts of
climate change suggests that in sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of the
population depend on rain-fed agriculture, economic activities are likely to be
more vulnerable to climate change. Th is is so because the coping mechanisms
of the indigenous communities in the rural areas are limited due to lack of
appropriate technology. A survey of households and in-depth interviews with
key informants in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB), however, illustrate that local
people in the LVB, through their informal institutions, have been developing
diff erent strategies to deal with the impacts of climate change. Th ese fi ndings
also suggest that the strategies developed are in most instances adaptive to
the changing ecological conditions and are eff ective and useful in responding
to natural resource constraints as caused by climate change. Th e strategies
employed include: creating and implementing specifi c rules on access to and
utilisation of some specifi c natural resources, such as those in the water catchment
areas; creating and implementing rules on the type of crops to be grown
(mainly cassava and sweet potatoes); creating and implementing restrictions
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Citation
Mwiturubani, D.A., 2009. 3Climate change and informal institutions in the Lake Victoria Basin. Environmental governance and climate change in Africa, p.49.